Chrome Platers - Again...

[DEL]

Hey folks.

Did a search on chrome platers and found two that came up recommended with GT Kustom Khrome seeming to come out on top and a George Hernandez as owner & point contact person.  Found contact email info too. That was from January 2017.

I sent an email last week, and as of yet have not heard back. Just wondering if anyone else has had any re-chroming done recently and who they used.  I saw a Little Motor Kar company listed as well. Haven't tried them yet, just thought I'd see if anyone had recent experience to share.

Saw a reference to a Chrome tech, but most commentaries seemed to be less than happy with most recent results. Of course in the end, beggars can't be choosers if these outfits have checked out.  ... Thanks!!

[mikemodeler]

George was a very active member here until he took over the chrome plating business. He is aligned with some of the guys in Detroit that do some casting and maybe they can pass the word along to him. Last post I saw regarding GT was that George has been slammed and extremely busy. I am guessing he is like most small businesses, does it all and tries his best to get it all done. I have said it before- operate like the Holthaus's did at The Modelhaus and you will have a successful business.

[crazyjim]

I've never used them, but I hear good things about Little Motor Kar.

[StevenGuthmiller]

I tried to contact George by email at least twice over a 2 month period & never did get a response.

I understand that he is busy & does most of his business through facebook, but it would have been nice to get a few more particulars from him before I commit to sending him some parts.

I had used Kustom Khrome before George took the reigns and was extremely happy with the results, so even though I have yet to deal with him directly, I somehow have trust in him.

I don't do facebook, but I have acquired a price list & mailing address, so at this point, I think that I will just ship him the parts along with a check & hope for the best.

 

 

Steve

[Eshaver]

I have Georges phone . What do you want me to pass along ? Do so in a P-M .

[peteski]

6 hours ago, crazyjim said:

I've never used them, but I hear good things about Little Motor Kar.

As I understand, they did all the vacuum metalizing "plating" for Modelhaus.  I am also less than happy with Chrometech USA and am planninng to one of the other companies for my next project.

[89AKurt]

Long time ago used Chrome Tech.  So I'm staying tuned here.

[StevenGuthmiller]

GT Kustom Khrome uses the plater that used to do the plating for several of the kit manufacturers.

They do excellent work!

 

Steve

 

[Rider]

I have dealt with George on a personal level before he jumped into the resin/chrome business 100%. George is a solid and reliable guy. I can't  speak about his current situation as far as work load goes as we have lost touch with him being so crazy busy. I would use his service in a heart beat. 

[Mr. Metallic]

I have used ChromeTech in the past, but switched to Little Motor Kar for my last couple orders. They do really nice work, and the turnaround is reasonable.

[DEL]

Did a little research both here and on FB.  GH seems to have acquired GT KK about a year and a half ago (?) at the time he listed who he got it from and I think if I read correctly made it sound like he did the work himself in his own facility. 

Then I found some more recent posts but still some time ago on FB and at that point GH seemed to be doing some kinda PR/damage control telling his customers to 'puuulleez' (quote) put a list in with their order of exactly what they sent him as he could not be held responsible for melted, damaged or lost parts.  Two or three posts along this vein with added info making out like he is a middle-man and that he himself actually plates nothing, that he sends work out to ANOTHER outfit. (if so what does he do? Rack them?) That's it.  And finally, then subsequent posts by a couple of folks on FB saying like me that they email him and get no response, these are from him about a year ago.

I don't know what to think. GT KK seemed to be the 'best' by comments and at one time had quick turnaround but now folks can't get an email response.  I don't care for the idea of shipping parts blindly un-acknowledged to an address and just hope they come back freshened up, as some folks seemed ready to do.  Chrome Tech seems to have few supporters and that leaves LKK, but their return time is longer seemingly.  I suppose I will contact them next.  Thanks, guys.

[StevenGuthmiller]

1 hour ago, DEL said:

Did a little research both here and on FB.  GH seems to have acquired GT KK about a year and a half ago (?) at the time he listed who he got it from and I think if I read correctly made it sound like he did the work himself in his own facility. 

Then I found some more recent posts but still some time ago on FB and at that point GH seemed to be doing some kinda PR/damage control telling his customers to 'puuulleez' (quote) put a list in with their order of exactly what they sent him as he could not be held responsible for melted, damaged or lost parts.  Two or three posts along this vein with added info making out like he is a middle-man and that he himself actually plates nothing, that he sends work out to ANOTHER outfit. (if so what does he do? Rack them?) That's it.  And finally, then subsequent posts by a couple of folks on FB saying like me that they email him and get no response, these are from him about a year ago.

I don't know what to think. GT KK seemed to be the 'best' by comments and at one time had quick turnaround but now folks can't get an email response.  I don't care for the idea of shipping parts blindly un-acknowledged to an address and just hope they come back freshened up, as some folks seemed ready to do.  Chrome Tech seems to have few supporters and that leaves LKK, but their return time is longer seemingly.  I suppose I will contact them next.  Thanks, guys.

Most of these model parts platers farm out their parts for plating Dwayne.

I think that the exception might be Little Motor Kar Co.

Kustom Khrome & Chrome Tech do not plate their own parts.

Very expensive equipment is required for "vacuum metalizing".

I have looked into sending parts directly to a plating facility, and believe me, it is absolutely cost prohibitive.

These model plating outfits like GT KK & ChromeTech keep their prices low by working on a bulk rate basis.

They send out racks of parts from many modelers at the same time to keep rates reasonable.

This is also the reason why they require a detailed parts list.

Your parts may be on a rack with a half dozen other customers parts.

Even with an outfit like Little Motor Kar, you can never be guaranteed that there will not be lost parts.

None of these businesses are ever going to be able to guarantee you that there will not be the possibility of loss or damage, so it only makes good business sense on Georges part to let you know of that possibility in advance.

Granted, if the parts are plated in house, there may be less of a chance that parts may be lost, but you cannot be sure.

In the end, if you are adamant that your parts only travel to one facility, you are limited to either Little Motor Kar Co. or a full fledged vacuum metalizer, in which case your half dozen bumpers & a dozen wheels might run you $250.00.

 

Steve

Edited October 11, 2018 by StevenGuthmiller

[DEL]

Thank you Steve.

I do know it's a costly process that requires quite an investment in equipment to do that particular process.

I read a lot of posts before I posted back.  I wanted to use GT KK because the pics looked so nice. And at the outset, it seemed he was quite attentive to those that contacted him and all that used him had nothing but good things to say.  Exactly what I wanted to hear.  Then I noticed a drop off in response and then the beginning of posts by others they could not get a return email. Somewhat perplexing for someone who had stated he wished to keep things going to the standards of the previous owner.  That's all I meant by my post.

If he is still in it and  in it big I wish he would say so and let us hear from him. I want to give him my work if I have enough to make it worth his bother.  Just hard to do if no one answers an email, that's all.

Thanks again, Steve.

[DEL]

14 hours ago, StevenGuthmiller said:

GT Kustom Khrome uses the plater that used to do the plating for several of the kit manufacturers.

They do excellent work!

 

Steve

 

 

I mean, that is just gorgeous right there!

[StevenGuthmiller]

1 hour ago, DEL said:

Thank you Steve.

I do know it's a costly process that requires quite an investment in equipment to do that particular process.

I read a lot of posts before I posted back.  I wanted to use GT KK because the pics looked so nice. And at the outset, it seemed he was quite attentive to those that contacted him and all that used him had nothing but good things to say.  Exactly what I wanted to hear.  Then I noticed a drop off in response and then the beginning of posts by others they could not get a return email. Somewhat perplexing for someone who had stated he wished to keep things going to the standards of the previous owner.  That's all I meant by my post.

If he is still in it and  in it big I wish he would say so and let us hear from him. I want to give him my work if I have enough to make it worth his bother.  Just hard to do if no one answers an email, that's all.

Thanks again, Steve.

Understandable.

What I have heard is that he has taken on some rather large contracts with some resin casters which has made things extremely busy for him.

He also does the lions share of his business on Facebook which might explain why he has not been answering his emails.

I agree that it would make things much easier for us "non-facebook" people if he was more accessible by other means, but I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.

The gentleman from whom he took over was Bob from Bob's Paints, and he is an exemplary guy.

If he and others are vouching for George, I have little reason to doubt that he will be dependable.

There are people on the forum who can help you get in touch with him if you're having difficulty & need to contact him.

You can always PM "Eshaver".

She evidently has a "direct line" to George. 

 

Steve 

[tabsscale1]

4 hours ago, StevenGuthmiller said:

Understandable.

What I have heard is that he has taken on some rather large contracts with some resin casters which has made things extremely busy for him.

He also does the lions share of his business on Facebook which might explain why he has not been answering his emails.

I agree that it would make things much easier for us "non-facebook" people if he was more accessible by other means, but I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.

The gentleman from whom he took over was Bob from Bob's Paints, and he is an exemplary guy.

If he and others are vouching for George, I have little reason to doubt that he will be dependable.

There are people on the forum who can help you get in touch with him if you're having difficulty & need to contact him.

You can always PM "Eshaver".

She evidently has a "direct line" to George. 

 

Steve 

Just asked him for a quote yesterday on messenger and he answered me this morning going to try and get some stuff sent off next week

 

[disabled modeler]

21 hours ago, Rider said:

I have dealt with George on a personal level before he jumped into the resin/chrome business 100%. George is a solid and reliable guy. I can't  speak about his current situation as far as work load goes as we have lost touch with him being so crazy busy. I would use his service in a heart beat. 

Same here....if hes very busy with work loads its because hes good at it.   I have a bunch of stuff that will be going to him for re-plating once I have them ready.

[dublin boy]

I was talking  to George recently, I asked if I could send over a styrene bumper to get plated.

No problem he says, I'm sending stuff out in a couple of days. I said it would take a week to get it over from Dublin to Detroit.

He actually raided an old jo-han Eldorado in his own stash and sent it off instead. He just got me to post my one over to him because it would be faster to get the plated one back to me.

That's how good George is!

[Paul Hettick]

I have some racks of parts out at Chrome Tech for plating, now I'm getting a little nervous..... May I hear of some personal experiences from some of you who have used their service? Thanks.

[Casey]

On 10/11/2018 at 5:56 PM, StevenGuthmiller said:

There are people on the forum who can help you get in touch with him

Or just send him a PM directly, as he's been a member here from the start: http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/profile/855-george-53/

[Casey]

12 minutes ago, Paul Hettick said:

I have some racks of parts out at Chrome Tech for plating, now I'm getting a little nervous..... May I hear of some personal experiences from some of you who have used their service? Thanks.

 

[Paul Hettick]

Thank you very much Casey. Looks like Chrome Tech does very nice work.

[StevenGuthmiller]

1 hour ago, Paul Hettick said:

I have some racks of parts out at Chrome Tech for plating, now I'm getting a little nervous..... May I hear of some personal experiences from some of you who have used their service? Thanks.

Nothing to be nervous about Paul.

Their work is generally okay.

I've just found the quality of the plating from Kustom Khrome to be better & the turn around time to be faster.

The last time I had Chrome Tech do parts for me, I had some minor quality issues, mostly involving the fact that they have a tendency to spray their base coat too heavily which can obscure some fine details.

Plus the fact that I have waited as long as 8 weeks to get my parts back.

But they are reliable & if you rack your own parts, they are the cheapest alternative.

 

Steve

 

[Can-Con]

If I may through my 2 cents in, I've been using LMCC for my plating for a few years now and have been very happy with them. 

The cost for a rack the size shown is about the same as the price of a current kit plus shipping. ,, which is a bit more for me being in Canada. Turn around time was quite reasonable.

[Lorne]

4 hours ago, Paul Hettick said:

I have some racks of parts out at Chrome Tech for plating, now I'm getting a little nervous..... May I hear of some personal experiences from some of you who have used their service? Thanks.

First time using Chrome Tech wasn't too bad, they responded on my email inquiry when asked if they had received "in good order", also the plating was good! . Sent another batch to them a year later and,...... wow! they really dropped the ball !!!!! I only used half of the parts the other half looked like they were dropped in a dust bin! They did not take the time to clean of the surface (dust particles underneath the chroming)!!!! Don't want to scare you off, I'm certain they are on the up and up. But, I am a paying customer and was really disappointed. Im surprised they don't have a quality assurance and a quality control person checking their plating. Social media can kill a business if you receive poor service.